I N T E R N A T I O N A L www.V i deoAge.org THE BUSINESS JOURNAL OF FILM, BROADCASTING, BROADBAND, PRODUCTION, DISTRIBUTION June/July 2017 - VOL. 37 NO. 4 - $9.75 It is common knowledge that TV producers pay their respective copyright holders, either via upfront payments and/ or royalty deals associated with global syndication, whether repeats or first run. Thus the question legitimately arises: Why the need to pay copyright owners a fee for live broadcast carriage by cable and satelliteTVservices?This copyrights fee for “secondary transmissions” is a separate fee from the $7.7 billion retransmission (retrans) consent fees that U.S. TV networks collected in 2016 from cable and satellite TV systems. According to the Licensing Division of the U.S. Copyright Office, as of December 31, 2015 (the latest time from which figures are available), the amount of the 2014 Cable Funds available for distribution totaled approximately $233,557,040.34. Based on this amount, a 60 percent partial The Case Of Copyrights’ Secondary Retrans Fees ‘Secondary transmissions’ is a separate fee from the ‘retransmission consent fee’ that U.S. TV networks collect fromcable and satellite TV systems (Continued on Page 16) My 2¢: TV spots are noticed by the public, but unnoticed by critics L.A. Screenings 2017: Fewer buyers, more new series Bill J. Peck, Int’l TV Distribution Hall of Fame honoree Jornadas: Argentina’s cable TV market sets new dates Page 26 Page 18 Page 10 Page 4 “The Italian media are currently fending off a so-called ‘French invasion.’ A total of 177 takeovers of Italian companies, by the French, took place between 2012 and 2016, while Vivendi is currently fighting for power at Mediaset and Telecom Italia,” stated the Strasbourg-based European Audiovisual Observatory. To recap what is now becoming a Napoleonic war between Mediaset’s Bolloré, Berlusconi In a Feud of Napoleonic Scope (Continued on Page 14) (Continued on Page 22) Early last month, VideoAge met JP Bommel, president and CEO of NATPE (pictured above), for breakfast at a downtown New York City restaurant in order to go over NATPE Budapest plans. Perhaps unsurprisingly after a successful NATPE Miami last January, the Los Angeles-based non-profit, National Association of TV Program Executives, is hoping for a similar hit in Budapest, June 19-22, 2017 (the event is to be held a week earlier than last year). The venue will be the same: The InterContinental Hotel on the Pest side of the city, facing the Danube NATPEBudapest To Emulate Success ofMiami
MAIN OFFICES 216 EAST 75TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10021 TEL: (212) 288-3933 E-MAIL: admin@videoageinternational.com WWW.VIDEOAGE.ORG WWW.VIDEOAGELATINO.COM WWW.VIDEOAGE.IT P.O. BOX 25282 LOS ANGELES, CA 90025 VIALE ABRUZZI 30 20123 MILAN, ITALY YUKARI MEDIA YMI BLDG. 3-3-4, UCHIHIRANOMACHI CHUO-KU, OSAKA JAPAN TEL: (816) 4790-2222 EDITOR DOM SERAFINI EDITORIAL TEAM SHERIF AWAD (MIDDLE EAST) ISME BENNIE (CANADA) ENZO CHIARULLO (ITALY) LUCY COHEN BLATTER LUIS POLANCO CARLOS GUROVICH LEAH HOCHBAUM ROSNER SUSAN HORNIK (L.A.) AKIKO KOBAYACHI (JAPAN) DAVID SHORT (AFRICA) MARIA ZUPPELLO (BRAZIL) PUBLISHER MONICA GORGHETTO BUSINESS OFFICE LEN FINKEL LEGAL OFFICE ROBERT ACKERMANN, STEVE SCHIFFMAN WEBMANAGER BRUNO MARRACINO DESIGN/LAYOUT CARMINE RASPAOLO PREPRESS CLAUDIO MATTIONI VIDEO AGE INTERNATIONAL (ISSN 0278-5013 USPS 601-230) IS PUBLISHEDSEVEN TIMES A YEAR: JANUARY, MARCH/APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY, OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER/DECEMBER. PLUS DAILIES BY TV TRADE MEDIA, INC. © TV TRADE MEDIA INC. 2017. THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF VIDEO AGE INTERNATIONAL ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT IN THE U.S., U.K., AND ALL COUNTRIES SIGNATORY TO THE BERNE CONVENTIO AND THE PAN-AMERICAN CONVENTION. SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO VIDEO AGE INTERNATIONAL, 216 EAST 75TH STREET, SUITE PW, NEW YORK, NY 10021, U.S.A. PURSUANT TO THE U.S. COPYRIGHTS ACT OF 1976, THE RIGHTS OF ALL CONTENT DONE ON ASSIGNMENT FOR ALL VIDEOAGE PUBLICATIONS ARE HELD BY THE PUBLISHER OF VIDEOAGE, WHICH COMMISSIONED THEM We all know the importance and impact of TV commercials on consumers, society and the economy. Then, why doesn’t the media critique them as it does movies, TV shows and even restaurants? Page 26 4. World: The Jornadas: Argentina’s cable TV market’s new dates; TRT’s second annual screenings in Cesne, Turkey; Australia’s FTA 8. Book Review: A complex, fascinating FrancoItalian spat for media control, poorly rendered 10. Int’l TV Distribution Hall of Fame. Bill Peck: A serious executive who inadvertently brought fun to TV sales 24. Calendar of events and travel news: Diamonds Vs. stars: Hotels have choices to charge more Features Cover Stories NATPE Budapest to emulate success of Miami Bolloré, Berlusconi’s feud of Napoleonic proportions Explaining the arcane case of copyrights’ secondary retrans fees. U.S. retransmission royalties for programs aired on broadcast TV 18. L.A. Screenings review: Fewer buyers, but more new TV series 20. U.S. critics agree to disagree about the future of television News
4 World June 2017 V I D E O A G E (Continued on Page 6) participants from LATAM and around the world for its trade show and for conferences on technology, regulations and other industry issues facing Latin America, with a special focus on the South Cone TV market. Last year, the event housed 58 exhibitors, equally divided between hardware companies and content providers, mostly for cable and satellite TV networks. On the seminar side, there were 23 conferences, while FOX and Telemundo Internacional hosted parties. This year, 63 stands are being made available at the Pacifico Hall of the Hilton, with sizes varying from nine square meters (for U.S.$4,000), to 18 square meters (for U.S. $13,000). The Hilton Buenos Aires, the Jornadas’ venue, is located in Puerto Madero, a trendy barrio (district) on the waterfront and near the Puente de la Mujer (Women’s Bridge). Pictured at top left: ATVC’s president Walter Burzaco (with the microphone) and CAPPSA’s president, Sergio Veiga, announcing the 2017 list of exhibitors. The Argentina-based Asociación Argentina de Televisión por Cable (ATVC) has set the 2017 dates for its Jornadas Internacionales de Cableas September 19-21 at the Hilton Buenos Aires, which is unusually late (last year it was held September 14-16). The Jornadas, the most important trade show for the cable TV industry in the South Cone of Latin America, is organized by two Argentinean associations: ATVC and Cámara de Productores y Programadores de Señales Audiovisuales (CAPPSA). The former is the association of cable TV operators and the latter, the association for content providers, with a board made of representatives from HBO, Turner, Disney, ESPN, Telefe and more. The Jornadas (or Cable Days) now in its 27th year, gathers over 2,000 TheJornadas: Argentina’s Cable TV Market Has New Dates, More Stands Letter to the Editor About the rights management article in the May 2017 edition of VideoAge: “In order to maximize revenue potential, we developed sequential distribution patterns that allowed us to manage and monitor availability windows, thus maximizing the sales and revenue potential. It would appear that today, with all there is available to reach the ultimate consumer, it is impossible to maintain the same level of exclusivity. Good job Ryan (Friscia) and Dom (Serafini).” –Len Grossi, Los Angeles AMCStudiosSales@amcnetworks.com INTERNATIONAL
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6 World June 2017 V I D E O A G E Goncalves. Other participants came from territories such as Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, Albania, Afghanistan, Australia, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, France, Canada, Kazakhstan and Spain. This compares to 50 buyers from 25 countries in attendance at the first TRT Screenings edition last year in Antalya. During the panel sessions, some 20 TRT titles were presented, while special viewing rooms were available for screening complete episodes. After screening Payitaht Abdülhamid (The Last Emperor) — which had its international premiere in Cannes at MIPTV — participants had an opportunity to meet the 150-episode drama’s cast. Pictured at top left: Senol Goka, TRT’s director general (fifth from the left), with his sales, co-production and programming team at the International Screening Days The Second Annual TRT International Screening Days took place in Cesme on Turkey’s west coast, north of Antalya, where the first event was held last year. The Screenings (sponsored by TRT, the Turkish State Broadcaster) started on April 26 and ended on Saturday April 29 and included seminars and informal talks with the stars of TRT’s TV series, with the whole day on Sunday dedicated for excursions around the area. The event was held at the Radisson Blue Resort and Spa in the seaside resort town of Cesme and registered 150 participants from 40 countries, of which 80 were buyers from broadcast TV networks, digital platforms, and independent distributors. Some buyers came as far as Los Angeles, likeCida Buyer Participation Increases At TRT’s Second Annual Screenings In Cesme, Turkey (Continued from Page 4) Exceptional drive, passion and integrity are the ingredients for an outstanding executive Congratulations BILL on your well-deserved recognition and for being such an intergal part of the international success of worldvision enterprises. Best wishes for your continued success Bert Cohen BILL PECK C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Aussie’s FTA To Pay Spectrum Fees Australia is planning to have FTA TV stations pay licensee spectrumbased fees instead of license fees to the State. The spectrum fee is a fee based on each transmission site that uses airwaves. With the reform, broadcasters will be paying annual spectrum fees estimated at around A$40 million, compared to the current A$130 million. Under the Television License Fees Act 1964, commercial TV broadcasters were required to pay a percentage of their gross earnings as fees for using the public asset of radio spectrum. From 2010, there have been a number of reductions in these fees, the last being in 2013when the maximum rate reduced from nine to 4.5 percent.
8 Book Review June 2017 V I D E O A G E By Yuri Serafini* Vincent Bolloré: The New King of The European Media, by Italian financial reporter Fiorina Capozzi (96 pages, jointly published by goWare and kay4biz) is an ambitious book recounting the ascent of Vincent Bolloré, a 65-year-old native of Brittany in northwest France who turned his family paper business into a diversified global conglomerate with close ties to the French government. The book is a timely exposé of the principal achievements of one of the key players of continental European business, however it falls short of the mark far too often. Although he gained a reputation in France as a corporate raider, today Bolloré’s eponymous holding company extracts about half of its turnover from shipping to and from Africa. Particular attention is given to Bolloré’s corporate mantra, which intermingled expansionary diversification while safeguarding family control over the group that carries his name. The author points out an interesting trend, exposing the outside support, which Vincent relied on at multiple points in his career; not only did he count on outside financiers supporting his many acquisitions, but oftentimes he relied on purchasing a minority stake in companies where he could count on the collaboration of existing board members to cooperate with him, allowing him to control entire companies while holding between 20 percent and 30 percent of shares. The book also recounts how Bolloré’s aggressiveness and opportunism did more than once sour a negotiation: a difficult relationship with the executive board of the oil conglomerate Elf leading to heated discussions over a company jointly owned with Bolloré, which went as far as involving Jacques Chirac’s Minister of Industry, Alain Madelin. Madelin isn’t the only politician who appears in Capozzi’s book. Bolloré is also close friends with the former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Bolloré holding company is often represented as a vaguelymercantilist representative of French interests abroad. A peculiar incident when the president of the Ivory Coast stopped him from purchasing a tobacco company is painfully unexplored; we only know Bolloré was somehow stopped from leaving his hotel room for three days, however we are not told the intricacies of the deal which led to the businessman being almost held hostage. Half the book is dedicated to Bolloré’s investments in Italy. His first sally was in the capital of an investment bank, Mediobanca, and an insurance company, Assicurazioni Generali, in the early 2000s. In both groups, he was welcomed as a neutralizing agent amidst infighting between existing shareholders. However, in the decade that followed he slowly earned the animosity of some board members for his aggressive accumulation of stock and influence over the executive suite. Bolloré has since, through Vivendi — a corporation controlled by his holding company — purchased a 24-percent share in Italy’s largest cell phone carrier, Telecom Italia, and also purchased a 30-percent stake inMediaset Group’s entire subscription platform, called Mediaset Premium, after a lengthy negotiation with its owners, the Berlusconi family. In February of this year, the Milan district attorney’s office opened an investigation involving a number of Vivendi executives and shareholders; Vivendi released a statement accusing the Berlusconi family of having pressed unfounded charges as a response to a rapid acquisition of shares by the French group. Thus, given these ongoing, not entirely cordial, negotiations between the two entertainment groups, a background on the key players is timely. A little too timely, it seems. The book feels very rushed. The publisher, goWare, certainly can’t have helped; goWare is a digital publishing startup whose inexperience is all too evident. The book is available on Amazon in three languages: Italian, French and English at $11.99 for each print on demand version and on goWare at 4.99 euro for each digital version. To top it all off, the translator, Stephanie Lamalle, and the “revisor” Katherine Perunic make a number of serious translation errors. The most repeated is the use of the word “titles” instead of stock. However, the translator doesn’t seem to have a clear grasp of financial jargon across the board: the phrase, “Listed on the Stock Exchange” is erroneously rendered as “Quoted on the Stock Exchange,” a direct translation of the author’s original phrase in her native Italian, Quotato in Borsa(although it would seem that the book was originally written in French, in which case, the original phrase would have probably beenCoté en Bourse). The translation renders some sentences entirely unreadable, for example, a footnote on page 22 reads as follows: “He is the son of Serge Dassault. Serge’s family is the defense French giant, Dassault, listened in the Paris stock market. Several tile the name of his brother, Laurent, appeared as a Mediobanca potential new investor.” Google Translate would have at least avoided the spelling errors. Verb tenses are also often in disagreement. Also working against the book’s readability is the author’s tendency to draw esoteric connections between French and Italian investors and entrepreneurs, which the footnotes only partially clarify. Key players, like the Italian industry association CONSOB (the public authority responsible for regulating the Italian financial markets), are introduced with little or no explanation as to what their powers are and how they impact a given share sale or purchase. Given the book’s length, its insistence on being laconic is somewhat confounding; it’s fair to say readers picking up books on businessmen would be more than interested in the backstory involved. Further, Capozzi as an author is fond of using euphemistic language, especially when talking about Italian entrepreneurs, which she regularly covers in the Italian Il Fatto Quoditiano daily newspaper. However, it is unclear howmany foreign readers will understand that Il Biscione (The Big Serpent) is shorthand for Berlusconi’s media empire (it is used as a logo in Berlusconi’s holding company, Fininvest). The cover is particularly emblematic; it depicts Bolloré and the former Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, talking on the phone (presumably with each other), and in the background Mediaset’s antenna tower is visible. It indicates that, like most other Italian cases, the solution to the Bolloré-Berlusconi spat will be political, since Renzi still controls the Italian government (he’s General Secretary of the ruling party) and the government has legislative power over Telecom Italia, of which Bolloré owns 24.68 percent. In fact, the book recounts multiple meetings between Bolloré and then-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in the summer of 2015. The Renzi government had been giving mixed signals with regards to the willingness to expand the national fiber-optic network in the event of a foreign takeover of Telecom Italia; the expansion was only approved after themeeting.What assurances Bolloré gave Renzi are unclear, but they probably involve Telecom Italia keepings jobs in Italy. According to the book’s author, some commentators foresee a sort of three-way agreement involving Vivendi, Mediaset and Telecom Italia which will shape media and communications for the Italian companies and their partners and subsidiaries in the Mediterranean for years to come. The only thing that is certain is that Bolloré’s negotiating position, so far, is very strong. Halfway through the book a timeline of “Bolloré’s stock market raids and transactions” appears, however not one Italian transaction is listed. In all, Capozzi’s book is timely and ambitious. However, it is rushed to the point of being, at times, unreadable. *Yuri Serafini is an economist from Bocconi University in Milan, currently earning a Master’s Degree at Johns Hopkins University. A Complex, Fascinating Franco-Italian Spat For Media Control, Poorly Rendered
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10 June 2017 V I D E O A G E Thiswriter’s first real encounterwithWilliam (Bill) John Peck occurred at MIPCOM 1993, when Peck asked him to send his photographer to take photos at his “surprise” 50th birthday party. VideoAge’s previous contact with Peck was three years earlier to coordinate taking a photo with his boss, Bert Cohen, for its MIPCOM Daily. At the time of the party, Peck was managing director of Worldvision Enterprises’ U.K. offices and, later, in 1997, he became vice president, European Sales, also in London. Worldvision was then the largest American independent distributor with offices in four U.S. cities and five countries. From almost its inception, Worldvision was also one of VideoAge’s (and other TV trade publications’) largest advertisers. For example, at that particular MIPCOM, Worldvision ran five ad pages inVideoAge Daily. Sowhen Peck “invited”VideoAgeto his birthday bash at Mekong — a restaurant near the Grand Hotel he stayed in when in Cannes (a hotel he continues to patronize) — it could not have been refused. Actually, the “invitation” was accepted with pleasure knowing that Worldvision’s brass would be in attendance, including Cohen, who among VideoAge’s journalists was known as “make me look good Bert,” for his traditional warnings after interviews. The birthday celebrationwas on aMonday night, after hours for VideoAge’s freelance photographer, so this writer had to “volunteer” to take the photos scheduled for the Wednesday Daily. Once the job was done, and just as the guests were ready for dinner, unceremoniously, Peck, with his trademark smile, asked him to leave. Subsequently, the VideoAge Daily report featured three photos of the evening and noted that “about 50 guests were present, mostly buyers from the U.K., Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.” This is how Peck described himself, when, for this feature 24 years after that birthday party, he was asked if there were any funny recollections in his 56-year career in the television business: “I doubt there are any funny anecdotes,” he said, “sorry, but I am not really a funny guy.” But even if he’s not “funny,” Peckhas ademeanor that renders him “simpatico,” and he’s always with a ready smile. And, even though he doesn’t smoke through an eccentrically Franklin D. Roosevelt-style long cigarette holder any longer, he still joyously plays piano at every occasion. “Who does anymore?” he said about no longer being a smoker, and added, “you remember my Korean ginseng cigarette holders?” As far as playing the piano, Peck started at age six. “I was very talented,” he commented, “but I gave it up as a teen. Fortunately, I can still fumble along. At the Grand Hotel they bought especially for me (I think) a Yamaha grand piano and with Marjie Woods as a singer, we’re now the number one late-night [event] on the Croisette.” In addition, looking through his extensive biography, one can’t help grinning, especially when picturing Peck attending his first MIP-TV in 1969. Here’s how he recalled it: “I drove to Cannes with Roy Gibbs (a colleague fromRichard Price Television Associates [RPTA]) in a London Weekend Television van stuffed to the brim with video equipment — TV monitors, film projectors, loudspeakers and hours and hours of programs on videocassettes and 16 mm film — [because] RPTA was the first exhibitor to have screening facilities on its own stand.” Another anecdote is recounted by Cohen, Peck’s former boss at Worldvision: “I remember visiting him in his hotel room one day, and found him standing on his head, which I eventually discovered, he did every day. Something about being healthy, he explained. Oh well...” How Peck ended up at RPTA is described in his resume: At age 18, in 1961, rather than going to college he found a job at the BBC as a film dispatcher, and soon after was promoted to film librarian. In 1964 he joined Granada’s program sales and four years later he went back to the BBC as program sales assistant. But the BBC was not in the cards, because just 10 months later he accepted an offer from the nascent London Weekend Television (LWT) as international program sales executive. This job lasted six years, until 1974 when he joined LWT’s exclusive program sales agent, RPTA, as general manager. Subsequently, and in the same year, starting in 1980, Peck jumped to Time-Life Television, Novacom and then to King Features, all as head of program sales and all in London. Here is how he explained it: “When Time-Life Television closed down (its film and TV catalog was sold to Columbia), two top Time-Life executives asked me to join Novacom, their new company dedicated to selling Boston’s WGBH TV product internationally, in particular the Nova documentary series. A couple of months later, Novacom was acquired by King Features.” In 1982 Peck joined Worldvision where he remained for 18 years until the company was taken over by Paramount Television. Here is how Cohen remembered offering him a job: “I first met Bill at the Caribbean FilmMarket, being held in Paramaribo, Suriname. I knew then that I would like to work with him.” However,Cohen’s recollectiondiffers somewhat from that of Peck, who also added a funny account. “Actually,” said Peck, “the first time Bert and I met was at the first Caribbean Film & TV Market, held the year before in Barbados in July 1975, but we didn’t really connect then. It was indeed in Suriname that we met properly, and a funny incident was at a dinner that some of the distributors went to at an Indonesian restaurant in downtown Paramaribo. “We had entrusted Bert with the task of paying the bill after we had all made our cash contributions to him. I remember Bert clutching a huge fistful of Suriname guilders in one hand, and the dinner bill for all of us in the other and looking totally bewildered. He started counting out the cash, note by note and was doing quite well until he got to a two and a half guilder note, which threw his calculations out, and he had to start again. The process went on for quite a while, as the rest of us were laughing until we had a stomach cramp.” Then Cohen continued: “When he came to Worldvision, he immediately became a major By Dom Serafini Bill Peck: A Serious Executive Who Inadvertently Brought Fun To TV Sales Int’ l TV Distribut ion Hal l of Fame Peck and Worldvision’s boss, Bert Cohen, in 1990 Peck’s 50th birthday was celebrated at MIPCOM 1993. Playing the piano at The Grand Hotel during MIP-TV 2017 (Continued on Page 12)
Congratulations Bill Peck on receiving the International TV Distribution Hall of Fame Award From your Star Media family www.starmediafilm.com
12 June 2017 V I D E O A G E Int’ l TV Distribut ion Hal l of Fame force for us in the U.K., Scandinavia, and Africa. I was amazed at how well he was thought of by the buyers and his peers. Bill was loved by everyone in the business. The personal relationships he had with his buyers were amazing and certainly gained him enormous trust, which translated into wonderful sales years, and lifetime friends.” The Paramount “merger” in 2000 took Worldvision full circle, since it was created in 1954 by the ABC TV Network-Paramount company as ABC Films and, in 1959, it became Worldvision Enterprises, and as its president Henry G. Plitt, a former Paramount executive, was appointed. With the advent of the Fin-Syn rule in 1971 (which prohibited TV networks from owning the programs they broadcast), Worldvision was spun off as an independent company and acquired by five former ABC Films executives in 1973. Subsequently, Worldvision went through various ownerships (Taft Broadcasting and Great American Communications). In 1989 it was acquired by Spelling Entertainment, then a three-year-old public company, which eventually became 67 percent owned by Blockbuster. In 1994, Blockbuster merged with Viacom, which owned Paramount. Over the years, Viacom increased its Spelling stakes to 78 percent and in 1999 it paid $162 million to acquire the remaining 22 percent of Spelling. Reportedly, due to a shortsighted bean-counter division, Worldvision’s brand (which was a gold mine), was absorbed by Paramount with the goal of saving 10 percent of operations costs, and in the process Paramount lost an estimated $80 million revenue, out of the $110 million that Worldvision generated, especially overseas. Peck stayedwithParamount as consultant for one year and, later, as VP of European Regional Sales up until 2005, when he started his own consultancy company, which is still active with such clients as Italy’s Mediaset and Ukraine’s Star Media. At onepoint, Peckwas consulting 16distribution companies from six countries, including Russia’s Channel One. “In the beginning,” he said, “there was only one: the Russian production company Amedia. A few months later, the managers at Russia’sCentral Partnershipaskedme torepresent them as well. My relationship with Central went back to 1994, when I soldDallas to them. Then in 2006, Vlad Ryashin set up Star Media in Kiev and asked me to become a consultant for his company too,” he said. Over the years, at least since VideoAge began following his career, Peck has not changed much, except, perhaps being nicer to this reporter. Even his still-dense head of hair is just as white as when VideoAgeDaily first ran his photo at MIPCOM 1991. However, Peck pointed out that he was “not born withwhite hair. My hair was very dark at birth and continued to be so until, I guess, the 1970s. Blame the graying process on working for Bert!” But his early graying was surely not caused by his boss, since he had “no real challenges to mention of, but perhaps a few set backs, like when in 1985 Worldvision was declared persona nongrata in the U.K., after it sold Dallas to Thames Television, with claims that Thames Television went behind the back of the BBC, the original U.K. broadcasters of the program,” he said. Here is how Peck recalled the story: “We broke British broadcasting’s cozy system, whereby it was agreed that no broadcaster would poach a rival’s program. “Dallas had been getting huge ratings for the BBC, a situation that was upsetting Thames Television. In 1983 Pat Mahoney (head of Program Acquisition at Thames TV) said to me, ‘Bill, before you renew the next season of Dallas with the BBC, talk to Thames.’ We needed a price increase every year due to spiraling production costs, and the BBC made it very tough. Early in 1984 Pat made me an offer of $60,000 per episode; the BBC was paying $41,000 and were prepared to offer just $42,500 for the next season. Thames also offered us a life-of-series commitment for all remaining seasons with a 10 percent price escalation per year. “At NATPE 1984 in San Francisco, Bert met with Alan Howden, the BBC’s controller of Program Acquisition, and told him that we had received an offer for Dallas from ‘another U.K. broadcaster.’ Alan suspected he was bluffing to up the price, and telephonedMichael Grade, controller of BBC1. Grade assured Alan that this offer could not have come from ITV (of which Thames was a member), because he had spoken the previous day with Paul Fox, managing director of Yorkshire Television and head of the ITV Program Purchase Group, who had spent the previous afternoon with Bryan Cowgill, managing director of Thames. Cowgill had not mentionedDallas to Fox. “Cowgill and his controller of Programs, Muir Sutherland, had deliberately kept quiet about the offer. They also felt confident that they would persuade the rest of the ITV Network to take the series and were offering Worldvision full ITV Network rights. So, I took the contract to Mahoney to be signed by Cowgill and Sutherland. “When the story was leaked to the press, the BBC cried foul. Thames Television was accused of double-dealing, and Worldvision was considered a company not to do business with. “The Dallas saga even raised questions in the U.K. Parliament and went right up to the high court, where it was decided that the BBC get it back, but on the terms that Thames had offered us. Ultimately, Thames never showed a simple episode, and their contract was taken over by the BBC. “Then, in 1985, while still persona non-grata in the U.K., Worldvision acquired the international rights of the miniseries The Key to Rebecca. I presented it to the ITV group at MIP in the same year, and Warren Breach, controller of Planning and Acquisition at London Weekend Television, said to me, ‘Bill, this is just what you need right now – a great new show. ITV is very interested.’ A couple of months later, I did the deal with ITV, and everyone was friends again!” Peck concluded. One of Peck’s greatest career highlights was the 1991 invitation by Soviet Television to broadcast 20 hours of Worldvision programs during one week, which was viewed by an estimated 150 million people (the Soviet Union was dissolved early that year, but the TV network was still under the USSR Gosteleradio). According to Peck, “that was the first time that so much airtime was devoted to on American TV series.” In exchange for the airtime, Worldvision received five minutes per hour, which was then sold to advertisers. At that time, Worldvision was owned by Carl H. Lindner Jr.’s Great American Communications, who had investments in Chiquita Bananas. Upon hearing of the Worldvision deal, Lindner acquired 15 minutes of air time for Chiquita in the hope of resurrecting his banana business in Russia. Recalled Peck: “Neither Bert nor I had any idea he had a banana business in the Soviet Union. In those years, the average Soviet had no idea what a banana looked like, let alone how it tasted!” The other highlight was the $20 million deal with Channel 5 in 1997 just before it went on the air in the U.K. And what about now? “Nowadays the distribution business is very complicated. In the past you could shake hands. Today in the contracts, just for the ‘catch-up’ rights there are five pages of definitions,” Peck conceded. Peck with a client at MIP-TV in 1972 to demonstrate that pre-Worldvision his hair was indeed black Peck with his trademark Korean ginseng cigarette holder, circa 1995 Peck with daughter Tanya in 2002 (Peck has also a son, Boris) (Continued from Page 10)
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14 June 2017 V I D E O A G E (Continued from Cover) Cover Story: Berlusconi vs. Bolloré Silvio Berlusconi and Vivendi’s Vincent Bolloré: In April 2016 Vivendi signed an agreement to acquire 89 percent of Mediaset’s money-losing, pay-TV service Premium. Instead of real money, Vivendi used 3.5 percent of its shares valued at 870 million euro. However, in order to buy Premium, Vivendi received 3.5 percent of Mediaset’s share, worth 150 million euro (in effect, Vivendi paid 720 million euro for Premium). But, four months later, Vivendi reneged on the agreement and instead went for control of Mediaset. Since last December, and unbeknownst to the Berlusconi family, Vivendi had been amassingMediaset’s stock to the point of reaching a 28.8 percent share. Bolloré’s surprising move sent Berlusconi into a panic, raking in more Mediaset shares on the open market to reach its current 38.266 percent ownership. In terms of ownership, Berlusconi controls Mediaset through his financial group, Fininvest, and Bolloré controls Vivendi through his Bolloré Group, which owns 20.4 percent of Vivendi, which in turn owns the French pay-TV group Canal Plus. At the moment Berlusconi and Bolloré are at an impasse over Mediaset: the former cannot go over 40 percent ownership until this month, while the latter cannot go over 30 percent without triggering a public offering for the remaining 70 percent. The understanding among analysts is that, for between telecoms and television is inevitable. According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, Italy’s three major media players are: 20th Century Fox — comprising the payTV company Sky Italia and Fox International Channels Italy — with a revenue share of 15.7 percent; Fininvest — comprising the free-toair commercial broadcaster Mediaset and the Arnoldo Mondadori publishing company — with a share of 14.7 percent; and RAI — Italy’s public service media company — with a share of 13.5 percent. The other half of revenues are scattered among smaller players, with individual shares of three percent or less. (All figures are for 2014.) Although Italy’s three major audiovisual media operators have similar revenues, their audience shares are different: RAI and Mediaset have overall audience shares of 37.2 and 32.4 percent respectively; Sky is mainly a pay-TV broadcaster and has an audience share of only 5.4 percent. (All those figures are for 2015.) [Note: A review of a book about Vincent Bolloré’s feud with Silvio Berlusconi is on page 8.] iTélé’s host Jean-Marc Morandini, who has been accused of multiple counts of sexual wrongdoing. Reportedly, last year Canal Plus lost some 400 million euro. As for Vivendi, in 2016 it reported adjusted net profits of 755 million euro with revenues of 10.812 billion euro. French analysts can only explain the feud with Berlusconi as being about control of Southern Europe’s entertainment sector, considering that Mediaset also has a strong TV presence in Spain. In Italy, Bolloré also controls the nation’s largest telephone company, Telecom Italia, with a 24.68 percent share, and has interests in Mediobanca (Italy’s main merchant bank) with a 7.9 percent share, and Assicurazioni Generali with a 0.13 percent share. Mediobanca is Generali’s main shareholder with 13 percent of shares. Reportedly, Bolloré is looking to increase his Mediobanca ownership to a controlling 20 percent, which will give him de facto control over Generali and thus over Italy’s two main sources of financial capital. Telecom Italia is also a cable and OTT company, and considering the U.S. experience, convergence Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s former prime minister and media mogul Vincent Bolloré, French media mogul French analysts can only explain the feud with Berlusconi as being about control of Southern Europe’s entertainment sector, considering that Mediaset also has a strong TV presence in Spain. Bolloré, the deal for Premium was a so-called Trojan Horse: an excuse to enter into Mediaset. Berlusconi’s lawyers charged that Bolloré reneged on the Premium deal to push Mediaset’s stock down to acquire it at lower price. Now, in order to reduce the number ofMediaset’s outstanding shares on the market, at the end of June Berlusconi’s team will propose Mediaset’s board to buy 10 percent of its own shares. In France, Bolloré is known as a raider with mysterious goals. For example, it is unclear what his strategy is for Canal Plus’ disappointing payTV programs and for iTélé (now CNews), Canal Plus’ 24-hour news channel, which is entangled in controversy over Bolloré’s connection to
16 June 2017 V I D E O A G E (Continued from Cover) Cover Story: TV Copyrights distribution of the 2014 Cable Funds would total approximately $140,134,224.20. In a nutshell, “secondary transmissions” to the public by a cable system of a performance or display of a work embodied in a primary transmissionmade by a broadcast station licensed by theFederal CommunicationsCommission shall be subject to statutory licensing. Consequently, twice each year, American cable services and satellite carriers deposit with the U.S. Copyright Office royalties payable for the privilege of retransmitting over-the-air television and radio broadcast signals via cable and satellite. Section 111 of the U.S. Copyright Act grants a statutory copyright license to cable television systems for the retransmission of over-the-air television and radio broadcast stations to their subscribers. In exchange for this license, cable operators submit royalty payments and statements of account detailing their retransmissions semiannually to the Copyright Office. The Copyright Office deposits the royalties into the United States Treasury for later distribution to copyright owners of the broadcast programming that the cable systems retransmit. Then, Copyright Royalty Judges oversee distribution of the royalties to copyright owners whose works are included in the retransmissions and who have filed a timely claim for royalties. If an interested party fails to file a “Petition to Participate” in response to a formal public notice, that party will not be eligible for distribution of royalties for a pre-determined period from either the cable or satellite. Allocation of the royalties collected occurs in one of two ways: In the first instance, the Judges may authorize distribution in accordance with a negotiated settlement among all claiming parties. If all claimants do not reach an agreement with respect to the royalties, the Judges must conduct a proceeding to determine the distribution of any royalties that remain in controversy. Alternatively, the Judges may, on motion of claimants and on notice to all interested parties, authorize a partial distribution of royalties, reserving on deposit sufficient funds to resolve identified disputes. Under this system, a U.S. copyright tribunal determines whether fund distribution controversies exist and either distribute uncontroverted royalties or commence a distribution proceeding to resolve controversies. As a matter of procedure, the Copyright Royalty Judges issued their written determination of royalty rates and terms prospectively. These payments originate from two funds: 1) the Cable Statutory License Royalty Rates; and 2) the Satellite Royalty Funds. A cable system calculates its royalty payments in accordance with the statutory formula as published in the U.S. Federal Register. Royalty rates are based upon a cable system’s gross receipts from subscribers who receive retransmitted broadcast signals. contributing factor. It was not until March 1, 1989 that American copyright law, in compliance to the Berne Convention, did away with the “must publish” requirement for non-American rightsholders. Because of the diversity of what is aired on cable and satellite television, large commoninterest negotiating blocs have been created. One such major group is known as the “Phase I Parties” or “Allocation Phase” parties, which represent copyright owners of programming and other works included in broadcasts that are and will be secondarily transmitted by cable systems pursuant to the Section 111 compulsory license. They include: Program Suppliers Joint Sports Claimants Public Broadcasting Service National Association of Broadcasters SESAC Performing Rights National Public Radio Devotional Claimants On the other side of the coin are the cable and satellite interests in the form of: 1) National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), which represents the owners and operators of cable systems serving more than 80 percent of the nation’s cable television households. 2) American Cable Association (ACA), approximately 850 cable operators that serve nearly seven million subscribers (with an average system size of around 8,500 subscribers (and a median size of around 1,000 subscribers). The cable system operator members that belong to NCTA and ACA are users of copyrighted works whose royalty rates are specified by Title 17. But cable television is not alone. There is the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, in which the same copyright tribunal distributes royalties paid for the manufacture and distribution of digital audio recording devices and media (DART). Ironically, in 2016, those collected royalties declined dramatically, to the extent that amounts deposited are insufficient to cover the costs of managing the DART funds and subfunds and distributing royalties to claimants. The result: As of royalty year 2016, it became impossible for the Judges to fulfill this directive. By Steven M. Schiffman, a copyrights lawyer, television producer and VideoAge contributor based in Las Vegas For rate calculation purposes, cable systems are divided into three tiers based on their gross receipts: small, medium, and large. Both the applicable rates and the tiers are subject to adjustment. Every five years, people with a significant interest in the royalty rates may file petitions to initiate a proceeding to adjust the rates. If such a petition does not take place, as was the case in 2015, the Tribunal must, therefore, publish notice in the Federal Register announcing the commencement of a proceeding and calling for Petitions to Participate in the proceeding to determine cable royalty rates for 2015 through 2019. This rule has its roots stemming back to 1941 when the U.S. Justice Department filed antitrust lawsuits against the nation’s two leading music performing rights licensing organizations, ASCAP and BMI — concerned about price-fixing by songwriters who, technically, compete with one another — bringing them under federal court supervision in 1941. The consent decrees signed that year require ASCAP and BMI to offer licenses to their entire catalog to anyone who wants one, at a fee that’s either negotiated or set by a federal judge in a “rate court.” The decrees have since been updated. Originally designed to generate royalty income from the use of the then-novel “player-piano” in commercial establishments, such as restaurants, it soon evolved to cover radio and then television broadcast. Prior to the player-piano, income was based solely on the sales of “sheet music” that was published. It is important to keep in mind it was a novel contention at the time that the composer had a further right to a share of any other revenue stream to which his work was a Twice each year, American cable services and satellite carriers deposit with the U.S. Copyright Office royalties payable for the privilege of retransmitting over-the-air television and radio broadcast signals via cable and satellite.
18 June 2017 V I D E O A G E Before the start of the L.A. Screenings 2017, it looked like we could have a remake of the L.A. Screenings 2008, which, under the weight of the writers’ strike that began in November 2007, saw only a few pilots completed. Fortunately, the 2017 disputes with the two writers’ unions were resolved a month before the Upfronts presentations in New York City, with a three-year contract for non-linear broadcasting signed ahead of time. This time, it came down to the wire, with the writers’ unions calling off the planned strike for pension and SVoD residuals just a few days before the Upfronts. With the new disputes resolved, the first day of the Indie portion of the L.A. Screenings market, May 16, kicked off with busy schedules, intensive suite meetings, Sonar’s general screenings and the NATPE opening party. The following days were just as busy, with a MIP Cancun reception, Caracol party and Telefilms’ general screenings. At the InterContinental Hotel in Century City, which, as usual, was the venue for the Indie portion of the L.A. Screenings, Latin and other buyers found 80 exhibitors from 16 countries, with seven first-timers, including All3Media and Sonar. That’s a slight decrease from last year’s 88 distribution companies. Similarly, the overall number of buyers throughout the whole twoweek event was down a bit with most studios seeing around 1,500 buyers from 56 countries. For the first time this year, Isabella Marquez, who traditionally coordinates the Indies at the InterContinental Hotel, introduced nametag badges for participants. As of May 11, 910 people had registered for the free badges in advance and 300 more did it by the market’s opening day. Marquez also arranged for free Wi-Fi service throughout the hotel for L.A. Screenings participants. The badge concept was well received and some participants who operated from the busy lobby without renting a suite — such as ACI’s Chevonne O’Shaughnessy — were even willing to pay a fee to get a badge, “since we are taking advantage of the services,” she said. On the first day of the L.A. Screenings’ Indie portion at the InterContinental, which gathers mostly LATAM buyers, Jeff Crounck, the hotel’s bell captain, delivered 261 copies of VideoAge to the buyers’ rooms. According to him, VideoAge was the only publication that provided this service. On May 18, Fox signaled the end of the indies’ event and the kick-off of the studio segment with their own screenings. This year’s market — which continued up to May 26 — also saw the active participation of both MGM and Paramount Studios. As anticipated in VideoAge’s April Issue, U.S. President Trump’s ideology is seeping into the new TV season. The New York Times wrote of the new season’s series: “How would the occupant of the White House affect what showed up on the air? One trend that has emerged is the rise of shows with military themes.” According toThe Los Angeles Times, the new TV lineups are “playing it safe. Network television wants tobeAmerica’s securityblanket.”Thepaper also added, “viewers want some escapism from the unpredictable administration of President Trump that has generated alarming headlines about campaign collusion with Russia and a possible nuclear showdown with North Korea.” And: “The atmosphere of insecurity is similar to the months following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. After the attacks, viewers flocked to TV comfort food that season,” the paper reported. Indeed, critics at The Los Angeles Times wrote that this new season looks a lot like “comfort food,” with reboots (American Idol), revivals (Will &GraceandRoseanne), prequels (Young Sheldon), spinoffs and remakes (Dynasty, S.W.A.T., and Dirty Dancing). Religion is also playing a part (A Christmas Story, By The Book and The Gospel of Kevin), as well as military themes (The Brave, Valor andSEAL Team). However, other commentators pointed out that, while networks play it safe, audiences most often reward those TV outlets that take chances and are challenging. As far as the Upfronts were concerned, advertisers returned to traditional television, having been disappointed by the ROI they saw with digital. The Upfront accounts for between 75 and 80 percent of the overall TV primetime ad market, and if the economy improves, the nets can expect an increase in rates for the balance of the airtime inventory in the so-called scatter market. For example, according to Standard Media Index estimates, advertisers who bought spots in CBS’ The Big Bang Theory in the scatter market paid over $391,000 per spot, a 34 percent premium over the network’s Upfront rate last year. At the Upfronts, the major broadcast networks picked up a total of 46 series for the new season, mid-season and back-ups out of 75 pilots presented (last year there were 47), however the studios will be distributing a total of 69 new series, including programs produced for other TV outlets. Seven of the new series were picked up before the Upfronts and others, such as FOX’s 911 and CBS’ Dynasty, which were not screened in L.A. since those shows went straight to series. As for the TV broadcast’s genre mix, 26 drama series won over 13 comedies (the rest were reality or competition programs). A Busy Market For Indies. A Rewarding Show For Studios L.A. Screenings Review For Kerim Emrah Turna of Turkey’s Kanal D, this was the company’s third consecutive year at the L.A. Screenings. For India’s Zee TV’s Sarah Coursey and distribution head Sunita Uchil these were their first L.A. Screenings.
1964 “Screenings” 1978 “May Screenings” TheL.A. ScreeningsEvolution In the beginning... Read the history of the L.A. Screenings at: www.videoageinternational.net/l-a-screenings-2017/history-of-l-a-screenings/ 1983... a new name! 2002 ... ... ... ... ... ...
20 June 2017 V I D E O A G E In the two weeks comprising the Upfronts in New York City and the L.A. Screenings in Hollywood, America’s local and national press reviewed the U.S.’s upcoming 2017-18 TV season and in the process outlined their take on the future of television. The New York Times opened the salvo on Monday, May 15, the Upfronts’ opening day for the U.S. broadcast television, declaring that “Viewers’ Eyes May Drift, but Marketers Are Sticking With Broadcast Television,” and followed up with a spacious and pro-broadcast TV article about Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s head of advertising sales. The next day, The Los Angeles Timesseemed to reinforce the message with a front-cover article in the business page explaining that, “TV networks adapt to ad-skipping viewers,” but, at the same time, the paper’s headline pointed out that “TV advertising [is] in ‘upheaval.’” Then, on Saturday, May 20, in the midst of the studios’ screenings of the new season, both The New York and The Los Angeles Times reports shifted to the quality and genres of the upcoming series. This aspect of the news is usually received with chagrin by the studios, which go to lengths trying not to have buyers get access to critical reviews of the new shows before they have a chance to screen them. For this reason, some studios exclude journalists fromattending screenings, especially those who tend to review the new series. While some publications avoid such restrictions by having international buyers register unfamiliar reporters with the studios, VideoAge is granted screenings privileges from virtually all studios because its L.A. Screenings Studio Issue lists only the synopses of all new series. In its business section, The Los Angeles Times reported, “TV lineups playing it safe,” and gave half a page to the fact that “TV networks are bringing back sitcoms,” focusing on the ABC revival ofRoseanne, a hit from 1988 to 1997, with its original cast. The paper also pointed out that “NBC is bringing backWill & Grace, one of its top comedies from 1998 to 2006,” also with its original cast, and other revivals, such as American Idol (now on ABC and originally on FOX), Dynasty(on the CW) and S.W.A.T. (on CBS). The New York Times too continued its new season’s coverage, but gave it a political twist with, “TV in the Age of Trump,” in the same vein of in VideoAge’s story in its April 2017 Issue announcing the “L.A. Screenings Under the Signs of Rooster [Chinese investments in Hollywood and] Trump.” In its article, theTimessingled out new series with military and religious themes (which tend to be favored by President Trump’s core constituents), such as SEAL Team (CBS), Valor (CW) and The Brave (NBC) for the military, and The Gospel of Kevin (ABC) and By the Book (CBS) for the faithful. On Sunday, May 21, appeared the first bombshell article, courtesy of The Los Angeles Times, with a back-handed compliment declaring, “People who get rid of cable TV might not save money.” And then, theL.A. Screenings’ period closed on Thursday, May 25, with an article inUSA Today pointing out how a channel restructuring by Charter, the second largest cable TV provider in the U.S., would end up costing subscribers more. Both articles indicated that, perhaps, the future is more problematic for cable TV than broadcast television, which today operates with an unprecedented four-tier business model: advertising, retrans fee, SVod and international program sales. U.S.CriticsAgreetoDisagreeontheFutureofTV L.A. Screenings Review Recognized standard of quality in AudioDescription With more than 20,000 television shows, feature films and LIVE shows completed, you can rely on us to deliver your project on budget and on time. Our technical expertise guarantees a top quality product, a commitment we’ve made to our clients for more than 14 years. Request a Quote info@descriptivevideoworks.com descriptivevideoworks.com Descriptive VideoWorks is committed to providing access to all forms of visual media
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